Edelstein
by J.A. Hastings
Summary: "What do you mean they are killing versions of you?"


**Prologue**

* * *

_Titan_

He could feel her essence. Magic flowed in her veins, it ignited her every cell; made her… more desirable. He wanted to consume her, possess her, and use her powerful magic to his advantage. He wanted her and in this moment, when his magic was weak and his strength had left him, he felt he _needed_ her.

The doors to the throne room blasted open but he didn't flinch, he was aware of her presence after all. The person currently in his mind walked inside, her emerald robes swishing and her black hair glowing with the faint light of the torches. She stopped right in front of him, and regarded him with cold green eyes.

"You knew I was coming," her voice was ice, unforgiving.

"I always know. You know I watch you."

"You're a creep," she huffed. "Whatever, I'm not here to discuss your undying love for me. I'm here because–"

"I know why you're here." She stomped her foot and a small portion of the floor froze, a thin layer of ice covering it. "I cannot help you for I do not possess enough energy for that at the moment."

She frowned at him. "Didn't you have enough time to recover?"

He shot her a look and she smirked.

"Oh," she said, her voice teasing. "I know he _is _powerful, but I think age is catching up with you."

"I am Thanos, ruler of the Eternals; age is nothing to me, as you well know, _asgardian_."

Her eyes flashed red for a split of a second. "Back to business," she spat through gritted teeth.

"As you wish," he whispered.

"If you know why I'm here, then you surely understand this is beneficial for you as well. We would be killing two birds with one stone."

He stared at her. She sighed. "It is a Midgardian idiom, it means –"

"I know what it means."

Her eyes turned fully red this time, her contained rage fighting to break through. "Okay then, since you know everything, I will not continue."

"No, please do."

She gazed at him with inquisitive eyes. "You're being extremely polite, totally different from last time. "

When he offered no answer, she looked around as her eyes turned green again. She was nervous, he could tell. She kept swallowing compulsively and jerking her head slightly to the left. "If we kill him, erase every single trace of him, we would get rid of him forever and you would be able to carry on with your plan of dominating the universe."

Thanos frowned. "You would not oppose to me ruling the universe? I would have expected you to point out your terms."

"We can speak of that later, after I have your word."

"Even with my full power, my army and your magic, we wouldn't be able to kill all his versions."

She bit her lip and then smiled. It was a wicked grin, full of dark promises and cruel amusement. She put her hands in front of her, palms facing each other and a bluish light emanated from them, tendrils of her magic threading together to retrieve something. From thin air, a small box glowing with the same blue light appeared in her hands.

She looked at Thanos again.

"What if I told you we can?"

* * *

_Asgard_

The pillars were shaking, the walls of the long hallways were crumbling and the panicked screaming vibrated through the whole palace. From the entrance to the right emerged three figures, two females and one male. They were carrying an unconscious fourth iron-clad figure whose armor shone with the light penetrating the place through various holes in the walls. One of the women stopped, her brown eyes staring directly ahead, her breathing becoming ragged.

"Jane," the man accompanying her said. He was tall and muscular, with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes. "We cannot stop here, we must continue."

Jane shook her head and looked down at her hands. They were bloodstained. She raised her eyes and met his. "I can't leave them, Thor! They are my family!"

"I know how you feel, they are my family as well, Jane, but we must do as Loki said, we can –"

"We can't afford to lose time with childish discussions." The other woman said. "This is war, if we don't move we will be killed and painfully. We need to go, take hold of Tony again."

Jane hadn't realized that in her moment of doubt, she had abruptly let go of their friend who now lied on the floor without her aid. She blinked back the tears that threatened to escape, nodded, and bent to take Tony's arm.

She never made it. Dust covered them as the wall behind them exploded.

"Jane! Jane!" Thor's voice sounded muffled, as if she were in a glass cage and he were speaking from the other side. A wheezing sound cut through the riot and she inhaled sharply, startled. "Jane, to the ground!"

She snapped out of her trance in time to do as she had been told. She flattened herself against the floor as a bright ball of light flew over her head… and impacted someone.

"Oh no," she muttered. "No, Sif…"

"SIF!" Thor wasted no time; he stood up from his place by a gigantic pillar and jumped towards the fallen silhouette.

Jane looked around for Tony and saw him being dragged away by a skrull. Trying to not be seen, she crawled in Thor and Sif's direction. Thor was sobbing over her once strong frame, pushing the hair away from her face, and murmuring in their language_. A farewell,_ she thought, _he is saying goodbye to her… _but Sif couldn't be dead! Not strong, beautiful, fearless Sif! She was stronger than Jane and yet, there she was, pale except for the red from the gash on her forehead tainting her skin.

"Thor," she wanted to tell him they had taken Tony, that they had to go and get him, but seeing him mourn the death of his lover, wife and best friend reminded her of her family again. They were out there, fighting to save her, to keep her alive… and now Sif had died; all because she doubted their decisions for a moment. She tried to find her voice again. "Thor, Tony, they have taken him away."

And then she was yanked up by two skrulls who hissed at her. She screamed as Thor rose, cheeks damp with tears, his face murderous; and tried to help her in vain. He was drained, emotionally and physically, and he didn't have Mjolnir, which affected him in both ways as well.

A well aimed kick from one of her captors sent him flying backwards, collapsing near Sif's lifeless form. Jane felt all strength leave her; she stopped fighting against the skrulls and remained still. She started swallowing agitatedly holding back tears once again.

_I'm not letting them see me crumble, I am a Princess of Asgard, wife of Loki Odinson, I am a mother, I am a woman and I will face them._

She blinked and she was gone.


End file.
